[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 152 (Tuesday, October 20, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Page S10573]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. MERKLEY (for himself and Mr. Corker):
  S. 1803. A bill to amend title 31, United States Code, to authorize 
reviews by the Comptroller General of the United States of emergency 
credit facilities established by the Board of Governors of the Federal 
Reserve System or any Federal Reserve bank, and for other purposes; to 
the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
  Mr. MERKLEY. Mr. President, today Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee and 
I come together to introduce the Federal Reserve Accountability Act. 
Over the course of the financial crisis, the Federal Reserve has taken 
extraordinary actions to stabilize our financial system. In doing so, 
it has departed significantly from its traditional relationship with 
markets. It is essential, therefore, that we bring greater openness and 
transparency to the Federal Reserve.
  We are introducing the Federal Reserve Accountability Act because we 
believe that it strikes the right balance in making the Federal 
Reserve's new emergency lending activities subject to a robust 
financial audit by the Government Accountability Office, GAO, without 
disturbing the Federal Reserve's monetary policy independence or its 
role as emergency lender of last resort. The Federal Reserve 
Accountability Act would require the GAO to audit the accounting, 
financial reporting, and internal controls of all Federal Reserve 
emergency credit programs that are not already subject to audit. To 
protect against the risk that disclosure of the participation of 
particular institutions could disrupt markets, the GAO would be 
required to redact the names of specific institutions. Names would, 
however, be made available 1 year after each emergency program is no 
longer used. For additional transparency and public accessibility, the 
legislation would also require that the Federal Reserve place these GAO 
audits along with additional audit materials under a new ``Audit'' 
section on its website.
  The many emergency lending programs created over the past year have 
certainly helped bring the financial markets back from the brink of 
collapse. But it is now time to set up a process for each lending 
facility to be fully audited by the GAO and reaffirm our commitment to 
openness and transparency whenever taxpayer dollars are used.
  I am hopeful that we can move quickly to enact this important 
legislation, and I urge my colleagues to join us in this effort.
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